7/18/2011

Putting our oldies away in a foreign land

I read Andrew Loh’s articles on the number of senior Singaporeans having to make do with nursing homes across the causeway. It was much cheaper and more caring staff, but a resting in a place so far from loved ones, so far from everything that is familiar.

In Singapore, the cost of nursing home has rocketed from slightly over a $1k to $2k or even more over the last few years. The oldies have little practical values and no economic value at all. It may be a little different if we can house them in a $200m state of the art building for them to narrate their stories as living history to the young and paying visitors. They all have a story to tell, a rich past that connects the present from what it used to be.

What we need is a living museum of sort, well equipped with the best sound and visual systems to share the contributions of the oldies. I think they have more value and should be better care for than some bones from Wyoming and needing a $300m building plus $12m public donations to acquire.

The old are living assets, if we care to look at them from a proper angle. They can be turned into money generating specimens too if money if the only reason for their existence. But maybe they would attract the oohs and the aahs and the whoas. Maybe JB is where they should be.

11 comments:

Anonymous
said...

perhaps oldies, by mutual consent with their providers, better off staying in JB or other nearby foreign locations. provided, they are safely and reasonably well taken care of and with proper accommodation and facilities. with permissibly regular visits by providers, good relationship can be maintained.

My Penang friend is not wrong to suggest that putting oldies away in foreign land is cheaper.

After all many people already harbour the intention to put them away,what is the difference between putting them here and putting them there. Even you put them here,how many times do you visit them a week?

Blame ourselves for not bringing up our children properly.Send them go U for what?Top post for what?Greedy,ungrateful and uncaring pig they become.Never teach them proper family value.Once highly educated,treat their illiterate oldies without respect.Can only bully the poor and helpless.Iron rice bowl for what?Only think the easy way out.Many of those more educated become more heartless and brainless instead.

We must think far ahead.Before our SINgaporean children put us elsewhere,we must have contingency plan.Dun spent too much on their education.Lesser educated mean more filial they are and lesser chances of being abandon.Never put all your eggs in one basket.My plan is to get mistress,esp. in other countries and produce more children .If SIN children chase me out,I can go to B ,B chase me out,still got C..The more oversea children,the less chances of being homeless.

Agongkia hit the nail on the head. They say that wisdom comes with age. I agree.

In the old days when people have kids, they hardly can afford to give them a good education. Yet those kids turn out to be filial and could mostly be counted upon to look after their parents despite their usual meagre earnings.

I always tell my relatives to make plans for their own future livelihood in retirement, whatever the ability of their children. Their kids may be brilliant doctors or lawyers, but the majority of these are the most selfish people who only care for their own egos and self esteem. Parents are always secondary in their plans and will be brushed aside. I have heard many horror stories about them. Unfortunately, neglected parents will never report their children. And more unfortunately, only unfilial children will ill treat their own parents. That is the reality.

Now, looking at relatives and neighbours with highly educated kids earning high salaries you can say that out of ten, only one or two can be counted upon to be filial. The risk of depending on them is now too great to take in this time and age.

The world has changed to one of selfishness, greediness and total lack of conscience. Humans are turning into animals, without morals.

Sad that the most capable and intelligent animal is turning into the least caring and most cruel of all animals.

The oldies are considered a burden to the State in our society and by some of their children.They are no more gold as known in the days of old.Anyway, some old folks are going around boasting how successful their offsprings are though the latter hardly cared for them. Pride before the fall it used to be said, now some silly oldies are falling and feeling proud at the same time.Egoist always feel great no matter their station in life.The youngs are heartless and materialistic because their elders and the schools have taught them meritocracy and kiasuism.

If all the bones of the oldies were to be displayed like a mountain and house in a museum, maybe they will create some competition to the bones of the dinosaurs. Get some artistes to arrange them in an artistic way to give maximum effect as an art form.

I don't mind the fossils, but I mind the price. I don't mind a replica, but I mind the huge building to house it. And I mind the add ons to keep the fossils in good condition. A replica of plastics would need lesser care and maintenance.

Yes I love the fossils even if they have nothing to do with us. I remember how a friend bought a 6 foot chandelier for his HDB flat. Nice of course.

In all my postings, one of my key principles is to avoid tarnishing anyone personally, and the least for indiscretion in their private live...

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